


Death is Patient, Death is Kind

by queerbioengineer



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: A very gay gentleman, Canon Gay Relationship, Cats, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Feelings, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kravitz is a gentleman, M/M, Making Out, Mild Sexual Content, Non-Explicit Sex, One Shot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 17:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18320021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerbioengineer/pseuds/queerbioengineer
Summary: "And the word came to Kravitz, fitting neatly together like pieces of a puzzle.Love. His love.And when Taako didn’t say it back that day, Kravitz didn’t push it."Or, several moments in which Kravitz is so, so gentle with the love of his undead life.





	Death is Patient, Death is Kind

Ever since they started dating, Kravitz had made sure not to push Taako on things.

 

It was partly due to the fact that living as an undead emissary for a couple thousand years had gifted him with an extraordinary amount of patience. Don’t get him wrong, he was no pushover. By his Queen’s name, all of the souls in the Eternal Stockade who had pointlessly tried to beg and barter with him could attest to _that_ truth. But more often than not, it just didn’t seem worth it to start a tiff with the object of his affections when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

 

That being said, his passivity on sensitive matters was mostly due to the fact that he just wanted Taako to be comfortable, above all else. He wasn’t blind to the fact that the elf had made himself quite vulnerable in asking him out, or that it wasn’t a very common occasion for him either. But he was _so_ very glad that he did.

 

Despite his initial expectations, given the less-than-ideal circumstances under which they had met, Kravitz had found himself quickly enamored with the wizard Taako. What started out as a particularly strange business meeting had turned into a most enjoyable outing, with better conversation and more smiling than Kravitz had had in centuries. By the time the Chug N’ Squeeze kicked them out, Kravitz’s cheeks were thoroughly flushed from a combination of good wine and Taako’s quick wit.

 

If he hadn’t been quite so endeared by the elf in their first meeting, then it must’ve only been because they were still fighting on opposite sides.

 

Taako’s laissez-faire demeanor was convenient for hiding a fierce loyalty to his loved ones, and absolutely no mercy for his enemies.  A lot of people found that intimidating, or even cruel.

But then, Kravitz was Death, so… he honestly thought it was kinda hot.

 

His Queen had commented on his uncharacteristically jovial demeanor when he returned to the Astral Plane that night, to his great embarrassment. But once his feathers had unruffled, he realized that he really _was_ happy, and that that in and of itself was extraordinary. He still had his soul, as a reaper, but it felt as though he was only just learning how to use it. The fact that getting to know more about this bizarre, beautiful elf was enough to make him genuinely excited about something other than his work was… special.

Really special.

* * *

 

When Taako called him for their second date, claiming that he was terribly bored and needed an escape from all the disgusting training Lucretia was putting them through, so he _might as well_ go out with him again, Kravitz probably should have felt insulted.

 

But instead, he laughed. “Well, I’ll try not to disappoint.”

 

And he planned not to. The Goldcliffe Symphony Orchestra had a bold new piece lined up for that weekend, which he hoped Taako would enjoy. When the evening arrived, he was more nervous than he expected himself to be; after all, Taako had managed to make an establishment that was _far_ more casual than Kravitz’s usual tastes play host to the best first date he had ever had, dead or alive.

 

As he stepped through the portal he cut just outside the Reclaimers’ door, he was struck with a sudden burst of panic that Taako might not care for the high-society scene at all, that he would feel horridly out of place and _uncomfortable_ there.

 

Kravitz was still trying to compile a list of low-atmosphere venues as backups when Taako opened the door, an excited look growing on his face at the sight of the reaper. Aforementioned reaper quickly found himself dumbstruck at the sight of his date, dressed elegantly in a pale gold dress, with lacey sleeves and a rounded neckline. His long hair was done up neatly, and he had abandoned his usual wizard’s hat for the evening in favor of an amber hairpin. Kravitz didn’t technically _need_ to breathe, but he certainly didn’t for a good five seconds right then.

 

“Taako you look… _beautiful.”_ Kravitz breathed, hoping he hadn’t made the elf uncomfortable with his choice of words. He didn’t want to assume anything about how Taako cared to be spoken about.

 

Fortune was in his favor, as Taako merely hummed at the compliment, looking away for just a moment as he fussed with his hairpin. “Yeah, I mean, natch. Gender-norms are ch’boi’s bitch, we all knew that, s’not even a thing.” The elf then eyed him over appreciately, three-piece suit and all, before turning an expectant gaze back to Kravitz. “Aren’t we going to be late, Reaper-man?”

 

Kravitz smiled, both relieved and excited for the evening ahead, before holding out his left arm towards Taako, his right hand already summoning his scythe. “When you’re in attendance, I believe everyone else will simply be early.”

 

At this, Taako gave him a sparkling smile, before gently slipping his hand around the crook of Kravitz’s elbow. “Right answer.”

 

When he dropped Taako off at the door later that night, and Taako left a warm kiss on his cheek, Kravitz didn’t push his luck. Not only because it would be rude, but also because he probably could’ve gone the rest of his undead life with just that kiss on the cheek.

 

* * *

 

 

The end of the world happened. For the first time in ages, Kravitz was scared.

 

He saw Taako’s soul at one point, peering through a portal to the Astral plane as Kravitz fought back the waves of darkness that threatened to overwhelm him. He had panicked, feeling helpless to save Taako, to save himself, to do anything other than drown as the world around him crumbled to pieces.

 

He spent countless hours alone, locked up in the eternal stockade, cut off from the other planes for reasons unbeknownst to him. He wondered if Taako was dead or alive, if he would even be able to tell. He spent those hours powerless, doubting everything, most of all himself.

 

And then he heard the story.

 

A hundred years of stories, really, weaving a fantastical tale of seven birds who fought tirelessly to save every reality in existence. Seven brave, amazing, powerful birds, one of whom was his…

 

What?

 

Kravitz spent the next hour trying to finish that sentence in a way that didn’t feel so wholly inadequate to their situation, or to what he felt. Trying to compromise the whimsical, mischievous elf that he had come to know with the legendary hero that he had just learned about. He felt admiration battle with fondness, respect battle with sympathy, and affection battle with desire.

 

But then he felt the world around him shake, and his soul get pulled with the herculean might back into the material plane. He got his bearings as he felt the rush of his Queen’s power flowing back through his form, as the planes were reconnected through the miles-wide sapphire plate on which he now stood. And he looked up to see Taako, standing fifty feet away, his hands crackling with red energy and his body flushed with adrenaline, meeting Kravitz’s bewildered gaze ecstatically as he breathed heavily with exertion.

 

And the word came to Kravitz, fitting neatly together like pieces of a puzzle.

 

 _Love_. His love.

 

And when Taako didn’t say it back that day, Kravitz didn’t push it. Because he had seen Taako drop his camouflage, bearing his vulnerability to him despite whatever jokes he made about it after. And he had felt the desperation and warmth with which Taako had kissed him, nearly bowling him over with emotion and sensation and relief that his love was _here_ , and he had _saved_ him. It was the end of the world, and Taako had chosen him.

 

And Kravitz knew. And that was enough.

 

* * *

 

Kravitz had assumed that what Taako said about them hooking up after the apocalypse was a joke.

 

So, he was more than a little caught off guard at the end of their third date, when Taako had invited him up to his new apartment in Neverwinter ( _the property values have never been lower, Krav_ ) for a cup of coffee. He suddenly found himself sat firmly on the couch with a lap full of elf, kissing him fervently before he could even stutter out an inquiry as to whether or not Taako actually owned a coffee machine.  

 

(He didn’t.)

 

Kravitz hadn’t drank much at dinner, but he quickly found himself getting drunk off of the blazing heat of Taako’s skin against his, arms draped across his neck and lips pushing and pulling between sweet little sighs, the taste of wine still faintly on his breath. Taako’s slender hands threaded gently between his dreadlocks, pulling Kravitz closer to him as he deepened the kiss, breathing more and more heavily where he sat straddled across his overwhelmingly aroused boyfriend.

 

Kravitz grinned, wide enough to momentarily break the kiss and earn an annoyed huff from Taako, who promptly turned his attention towards kissing Kravitz’s neck. _Boyfriend_. He loved that word. And Taako had thrown it around so casually in front of his friends, as if it ought to be common knowledge now. Common knowledge that the wonderful, beautiful elf before him was his to love and adore and cherish. If Kravitz had been crazy about him before, he was a complete goner now. Kravitz felt so _unbelievabl_ y lucky to have him in his life.

 

Not to mention in his arms, pressing himself closer to Kravitz and rolling his hips in a way that made the reaper shudder. His physical form’s abnormally slow heartbeat was picking up speed, and his skin was almost approaching room temperature, which meant that they were not particularly far from having a rather _obvious_ issue to address.

 

So, though it pained him to pull away from Taako’s affections, and even more-so to see the brief flash of hurt and confusion in his eyes, he knew that he had to say this before he made any kind of assumptions.

 

“Taako, you know we don’t have to-“

 

“I’m gonna stop that sentence right there, Skeletor,” Taako was still breathing heavily, and now looking at Kravitz so intensely that he thought his skin might melt off right then and there from the heat of it.

 

“I love the whole ‘gentleman’ thing you got going on. Really, I do.” Kravitz’s heart gave another thump at the word ‘love,’ as Taako pressed a soft hand appreciatively against his suit jacket.

 

“But right now, I’d love it even more if I could get a piece of whatever the _fuck_ it is my man has going on down there.”

 

Good _gods_ , Kravitz was flushing an awful lot for a dead man. But still he hesitated, and Taako started to pull back, ears drooping ever so slightly.

 

“But like, if you don’t want to, or like, can’t? That’s fine, we can-“

 

“No, no, I do,” Kravitz stumbled to get his words out as Taako looked on curiously. “Taako, there are few things I would like more, it’s just…”

 

It had grown tiresome long ago to continue indulging his baser desires just for the sake of it, but he felt himself revived at the thought of what laying with the elf would be like. To drink in the taste of him, to be wrapped in his comforting warmth, to please the keeper of his heart so thoroughly that for a moment, his beautiful soul would want for nothing. It was an _intoxicating_ idea, made even more tempting by their heated embrace.  

 

But in every imagined scenario that Kravitz held, there was something he couldn’t help but picture, one request that he was anxious to make, despite the risks associated.

 

“Will you drop your glamour for me?”

 

He saw the flash of panic on Taako’s face, and he watched as his love’s walls began to build back up, unsure of his own inherent beauty and worth even after everything that had happened. He gently cupped Taako’s face in his hands, guiding him to meet his glowing red gaze.  

 

“Taako, I think you’re beautiful either way, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I could deny you nothing, however you choose to look.” Kravitz took Taako’s hand with one of his, and kissed each knuckle tenderly as Taako watched and shivered.

 

The elf sat for a moment, considering the doting man beneath him as the shimmering glamour on his skin flickered ever so slightly. But then it firmed up again, and Taako sighed, ears drooping sadly.

 

“Sorry,” he said, voice cracking slightly. “I know I did it before, but- “

 

“Please, don’t apologize.” Kravitz smiled at him warmly, giving Taako a soft smile when he saw the elf start to look guilty. “That’s perfectly alright, darling. I promise.”

 

Kravitz couldn’t even allow himself to feel disappointed for a moment, because Taako’s comfort was first, always. He kissed Taako firmly, as if to reassure him that he hadn’t lied, that he wasn’t obligated to bare himself completely to him, that his love was not conditional to how far Taako could make himself vulnerable.

 

Taako pulled back from the kiss, looking relieved, which Kravitz thought was absolutely worth throwing any and all fantasies he had had out the window. Or at least, saving them for a later date.

 

Taako sighed, looking down and away from Kravitz’s face. “Fuck. Didn’t mean to spoil the mood there, kemosabe,” he mumbled.

 

At this, Kravitz took Taako’s waist between his hands and smoothly pulled him closer to his chest, drawing a surprised noise from him. “My dear, I think you’ll find you haven’t spoiled anything,” he said softly, beginning to press a line of kisses down the elf’s throat as he wrapped him up tighter in his lukewarm arms.

 

Taako shifted slightly where he sat, and his ears perked up, as a mischievous grin spread across his face. Thinking ahead, Kravitz lifted his head up to fix Taako with a stern look.

“But any jokes about ‘bones’ most _certainly_ will.”

 

Taako snickered, and there was laughter in his eyes now, as well as an unmistakable hunger that was growing by the second. “Ugh, fine, I’ll save those for later. For now,” he reached over to take Kravitz’s tie in his delicate grasp and leaned in close.

 

“Take me to bed, Grim Reaper.”

 

And Kravitz, as always, could deny him nothing.

* * *

 

Kravitz didn’t need to sleep very much. Only 1 or 2 hours a night, to keep his physical form intact. He could even go up to a week without sleeping and be perfectly fine.

 

So really, the fact that Taako hadn’t asked him to spend the night yet shouldn’t have bothered him at all.

 

It wasn’t that he hadn’t been in Taako’s bed before. He and Taako had been intimate a number of times now, which was… very, _very_ nice. Sure, Lup had given him no shortage of ribbing for his upbeat demeanor at the office, but still. So. Incredibly. Worth it.

 

He only wished Taako would ask him to stay a bit longer.

 

There wasn’t even an issue of embarrassment, leaving his apartment that late in the night. After all, he could portal right back to the Astral Plane from the inside. So really, what did Kravitz have to be sore about?

 

Besides missing out on the chance to hold Taako while he meditated, or even just doze lazily together for a while. Not being able to slip off into dreamless rest with his warm boyfriend beside him.

Truthfully, Kravitz could go on. But he knew better than to push Taako, or to grow resentful towards him for it. Because he knew that there were things Taako hadn’t told him, and he had his reasons for it. And Kravitz trusted him.

All he could do was try to show Taako that he could trust him too.

 

One evening, they were having a quiet night in, watching some inane show on Fantasy Netflix. Taako was leaning into the crook of Kravitz’s shoulder, and had been yawning in growing frequency for the last twenty minutes or so. Kravitz brushed his hand through Taako’s hair, smiling when the drowsy elf seemed to nuzzle towards his hand. Gods, he was cute.

 

“It’s getting late, Taako. I ought to head out.”

 

Taako made no movement towards letting Kravitz stand up, and he mumbled something into his shoulder.

 

“What was that, love?”

 

“…stay.”

 

 _Oh._ Kravitz felt warm honey pooling in the pit of his stomach at the word. “That sounds wonderful, love,” he whispered. “But are you sure?”

 

“Yeah, just…” Taako sat up a bit, rubbing at his eyes and blinking a few times. “Gotta warn ya though, Bones, I don’t sleep so good. Night terrors. Might kick at ya.”

 

Kravitz frowned. Not at the prospect of getting kicked in Taako’s sleep, he was quite durable.

 

No, Kravitz was confused. Night terrors weren’t that rare among humans, particularly those who dealt with a lot of stress (Queen knows Taako had had enough of that for a lifetime). But…elves didn’t typically get them because they didn’t typically _sleep_ in the first place. They got their rest by meditating for a few hours a day.   

 

As if reading his mind, Taako let out a weary sigh. “Haven’t been able to get in a trance in a long time. Requires inner peace, and focus, and shit. So, sleep.”

 

Kravitz felt a pang of sadness in his chest, understanding immediately what was causing Taako enough pain to wear on him like this. He had heard of the tragedy at Glamour Springs, knew that Taako had blamed himself for years. He had suspected he still did, to some extent. He was glad that Taako trusted him with this, though.

 

He wished he could fix it for him; put his mind at ease in a more permanent manner, erase the aching scar on his heart. But he would settle for holding him through his terrors, and keeping him from hurting himself when he thrashed in his sleep. Because it was worth it, for getting to see how peaceful Taako looked when he woke up in the mornings, blissfully unaware of the fearful waking nightmares he had lived out the night before.

And it was especially worth it when Kravitz woke up in the middle of the night months later, after he had officially moved them both into their new home. He saw Taako, dozing peacefully in a trance with his eyes shut, breathing rhythmically as he was wholly unperturbed by Casper and Poe, who were meowing at him indignantly.

 

Kravitz smiled, took Taako’s hand, and whispered at the cats:

“Don’t push it.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't normally do one-shots, but I really wanted to write this. <3 hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you did, feel free to check out my current WIP, "Wrong Twin, Barold". It's a Blupjeans fic and also a Twins-dynamic fic, and I'm really happy about where it's going so far. But I was missing some of that good good Taakitz fluff, so this felt good to write. 
> 
> Please leave comments!!!


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